i. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a socket for a partial hand prosthesis to which one or more prosthetic members, such as articulatable or nonarticulatable prosthetic finger prostheses, or tools for specific activities, may be attached.
ii. Description of the Related Art
When a person loses all or part of a hand due to an accident or a degenerative condition, or is born with a malformation of the hand, a full or partial prosthetic hand is used to assist the person with performance of daily activities. Designs for hand prostheses have evolved over many years of attempts to provide functional abilities that approximate those of a natural healthy hand. Exemplary prostheses are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 7,867,287 which describes a hand prosthesis which includes a chassis to which a number of finger prostheses are articulated. Fingers are actuated by a common drive housed within the chassis.
Partial hand losses where a portion of the natural hand remains require attachment of the prosthetic portion to the residual hand by means of an attachment device referred to as a socket. Previous partial hand socket designs have many variations and configurations. Prior designs encapsulate the entire residual hand and wrist to achieve the necessary suspension of the prosthetic members. A partial hand prosthesis sold commercially by Touch Bionics™ is a myoelectric prosthesis that has motor-powered fingers attached to a silicone skin. The silicone skin fits around a patient's residual hand and is connected to a wrist strap which provides the power source and communication links. Under the silicone skin there is a base layer that surrounds the residual hand from the metacarpophalangeal joint level proximally to below the wrist.
The foregoing discussion is intended only to illustrate various aspects of the related art in the field of the invention at the time, and should not be taken as a disavowal of claim scope.